The Portland daily press., 1887-11-23
REcoLLEcrIoNs OF EUROPE.
Lecture by Rev. Or. Bashford In
Chestnut Street Church.

The Rev. DR.. Bashford received most
cordial welcome by the 1900 people who last
evening greeted him in Chestnut Street
Church, and they listened with much inter-
est to his European Impressions"
In commencing DR.. Bashford spoke of the
pleasure it gave him to address his old
friends after half year abroad. 81 have
trav elled," he continued, ''some 1900 miles
since we were together. We left Portland
on the 18th of April in binding snow
storm, and left New York on the Goth of that
month for Italy direct preferring this to
the usual method of landing in England.
We almost Immediately struck the Gulf
stream, as our course lay considerably south
of east, and thus were enabled by the high
temperature of the atmosphere to remain
upon deck good deal and take in the pure
ocean air."
DR.. Bashford had taken an italian line
steamer and called attention to the great
care exercised by the seamen, their casual
ties amounting to only half those of the other
lines. The voyage was in general very pleas
ant, though seasickness did not forbear to
lend its presence.
''The first la nd lsighted was that of the
Azores, and from there the steamer pro-
ceeded to Gibraltar, where the first landing
was made. And here the ancient modes and
habits of the people pointed only too con-
spicuously to the fact of the slow advance of
civilization among them. Yet we seemed to
find everybody here. There were Jews from
Palestine and Moors from Morocco, and peo-
pie from France, and Spain, and England.
From here and on most Of the passage to
italy friQa w p0nSfapflV N SIGHT and
as we sat watching its beautiful shores lying
so Smilingly under the Mediterranean skies,
it looked anything but the dark continent"
And just here let me say believe the great
development of the twentieth century will
be in Africa as that of the nineteenth has
been In our broad land.
"The most interesting thing at Gibralta is
the Notifications, which are undoubtedly
the most impregnable in the world. An
armed force of considerable proportions is
kept here continually by England-in fact
most of her young warriors are educated at
this far away stronghold. We were so near
Spain that we went across to the little town
of Lena, and among the first objects to at
tract the eye was building OF vast proper
tions which we supposed was Catholic
cathedral. but found to be the arena for
the bull fights for which Spain is so famous.
"The first landing in Italy was at Genoa,
and it seemed very much like heme, because
the people more nearly resemble our own
race than any we had seen since starting.
And found throughout our whole European
trip that the likenesses OF the races are more
frequent than the differences. l could pick
out scores Of men in Naples that II placed In
this audience would not be thought of foreign
blood. Pisa and its leaning towers were the
next landmarks in our. pilgrimage. But the
marble buildings, of which had heard such
glowing accounts, disappointed me. The
marble is not white, and the centuries have
Then on to Naples, where 100000 people live
and thrive as happily as we. In fact, their
habits are not so very much different from
ours after all. And here, Of course, we re-
membered the stories of the Italian sky, and
ours existed. But all in vain. 1t certainly
seemed to me the same sky had had all the
way. Vesuvius and P0mpeii were visited,
and the crater of the one and the excava-
tfons of the other are of exceeding interest.
The fertility of the land in this vicinity is
very noticeable, the average yield Of crops
amounting, in many cases, to $500 per acre.
some hundred and sixty miles away lay
Rome, and thither our steps strayed; and
here the remarkable progress Of the. people
Catholics are losing their hold, and that they
must either adapt their creeds to the new or
der Of things, or lose their power. The edu-
catiOnal movement is wonderful. twenty
years ago thirty per cent OF Italians only
could read and write, and now fully seventy
per cent can do SO. There are more news
papers in the city of Milan than in New
York. though, of course, not of equal size
or circulation"
The Forum, st. Peters and the Coliseum
were spoken of, and attention called to the
great number of great men Rome has given
us, Americas, Vespucius, Michael Angelic,
Dante and Calico among them. Continuing
DIR. Bashford said: II wandered through
miles Of paintings in Rome and can only re-
commend two things: one to destroy half
on account of its immoral character and the
other to distribute the rest among the cities
of the world. Such an immense art collec-
ton in one city cannot have the aesthetic re-
suit that its distribution would. From Rome
we went through Switzerland to Germany
and thence to Brussels and London"
Speaking of the Irish people DIR. Bashford
said: ~ do not think the Celts have the
virtues and the abilities of the Anglo-Saxon
race. The have as true and noble men and
women perhaps, but they lack the push and
perseverance,"
In closing, the speaker alluded to the ad-
vantages and possibilities of America. DIR.
BashfOrd was rendered an informal recep-
ton at the close of the lecture.